Debt... incoming

LBincoming

Andyjflet said:

In all honesty you need to be intense about getting some savings behind you like now, before you stop work, at least £1000 emergency fund. I would also be planning on getting rid of one car and moving to a single use vehicle, thats a lot of money to pay for vehicles you cant afford, you need a Dave Ramsey car sat on the drive. 

Completely with you on this! Issue is we don’t really have the free cash (or the time left) to have much emergency fund saved before I go off on maternity leave. I’m hoping to put aside whatever is earned from my side hustle until I have the baby though, as well as the £300 we currently save.

Agree with you on the car, however with me currently being required to have a car for work, it would mean my husband would go without and he’s not currently on board with that plan, he’d rather cut anything else out possible (but I can’t see what that would be).

LBincoming

cydney65 said:

Just a small mention about your side hustle. Hopefully you are registered with HMRC-are you saving for a potential tax payment?
 My turnover was really small last year but I still need to pay over £600, which I hadn't bargained for (I know!)

Yes thankfully! I put 20% of every sale into a tax pot off my business account, so hopefully there’s no huge shock come January. I also keep approximately 30% for business savings/materials/equipment/insurance etc and the remaining 50% is ours (sole trader).

LBincoming

lisa1234831 said:

Hiya when checking your benefit entitlement for now and when your new baby arrives are you working out your income correctly? Some of your income is disregarded when on maternity leave so you will be classed as on a lower income. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-credits-working-out-income

I’ve actually never checked as I assumed we wouldn’t be eligible for any benefits as we both earn well over minimum wage?

LBincoming

NeverendingDMP said:

Just an idea for you to think about, if you stop paying into premium bonds for 3 months you would save 600 a pound. Either to almost cover a lost month whilst on mat leave or to repay the sofa early. If you repay the sofa early this will mean that when the Oct price cap on gas and electricity comes in you have the extra in your budget to cover the increase without having to panic. (Unless you are on a fix)
If you stop premium bonds for longer thats gonna save you more and take pressure of whilst on mat leave.
Wasn't sure if you pay any childcare now but have a play around on benefit calculators on turn to you or similar type sites. Just to give an example our take home pay is 3.5 k ish a month our childcare costs are 550 a month  last month we got 39 in universal credit. It all helps, you might be able to get a bit even if it covers the shoe fund for when your current little one is walking, it's worth a look and might also help you decide what the optimum work/childcare balance is when you return to work after baby two. 
Car, phones etc already mentioned but just out of interest is your mortgage fixed. 
And britax city jogger is a recommendation from.me too. Have you checked the pram you want will fit in your boot. They are huge. And without sounding the voice of doom how much will you use the pram with two small children. Will you always be out together or a lot by yourself. You can get buggy boards or buggy seats that are.a pain to use but help transport two in one. I think your youngest may still be too young but it's worth a though. Some people use baby carriers for youngest and pram for oldest. Not something I ever managed though 

Thank you!

So the premium bonds payment each month IS our savings for maternity leave basically. Just takes a few days to access the money compared to a regular savings account so we can’t spend it on a whim on rubbish haha.

I’ll be out a lot on my own with the pram - we live quite rural and also have a large dog so I’ll be out for at least an hour a day while on maternity leave (husband will be at work). Yeah our current one will be too young - she isn’t even crawling or standing yet so can’t imagine she’ll not need a pram in only three months. We’ve luckily been bought a second hand one by a family member though so that’s one worry out the way!

NeverendingDMP

That's good that you got a pram sorted. What did u go for in the end. I had a britax city jogger with inserts in for newborns at first then the pram itself,it was not forward facing which is a shame but fit through my door, in my boot and I could fold it with one hand whilst holding one of the babies can't say I miss it now. Double prams are ace but a pain in the A. I agree you need  one though:)

KeepOnKnitting

I'm going to throw something out here, and please don't think I am meaning to be rude in any way. Maybe now is a good time to talk with your husband about contraception/family planning for after baby 2 arrives? You have already had one fantastic oops that is putting a squeeze on your family finances. Maybe think now about options for once this little one arrives? Do you both want more children? When? Are you "done"? Do you want 6 and you need to work out how to make that financially possible? You made a few choices about cars and furniture based on both working full time, and then the plan changed and you have ended up slightly on the back foot.

Well done on the forward planning now about the financial side of maternity leave, and congrats on making your happy little family.

ladyholly

Just read through although I admit skimmed some of it. 2 points stand out to me. You say you need your car for work. Do you you get expenses for running it. If not why not? I may have missed that so apologies if I have. The same with your phones . If you need them for work why arent they paying for them.

The only other pont is you dont need a newish car to be reliable. Ours is 21 years old and has passed the MOT with no advisories for the last 4 years. The previous years was for one of the tyres which needed replacing within 3months. Okay perhaps we have been lucky but you see my point. I know you aare stuck with them at present but think a bit more when you can. Atthe end of the day it is only a tin box to get you from aA to B.

Lollypop18

With two children on a joint income of 35k you may get some help with childcare from Uc

LBincoming

NeverendingDMP said:

That's good that you got a pram sorted. What did u go for in the end. I had a britax city jogger with inserts in for newborns at first then the pram itself,it was not forward facing which is a shame but fit through my door, in my boot and I could fold it with one hand whilst holding one of the babies can't say I miss it now. Double prams are ace but a pain in the A. I agree you need  one though:)

I actually managed to get the Bugaboo Donkey Duo, the carry cot was still in its new plastic too! Saved over a grand vs the new price, plus we can use it now in its single version so can sell our old single pram too.

LBincoming

KeepOnKnitting said:

I'm going to throw something out here, and please don't think I am meaning to be rude in any way. Maybe now is a good time to talk with your husband about contraception/family planning for after baby 2 arrives? You have already had one fantastic oops that is putting a squeeze on your family finances. Maybe think now about options for once this little one arrives? Do you both want more children? When? Are you "done"? Do you want 6 and you need to work out how to make that financially possible? You made a few choices about cars and furniture based on both working full time, and then the plan changed and you have ended up slightly on the back foot.

Well done on the forward planning now about the financial side of maternity leave, and congrats on making your happy little family.

He's already got his name on the waiting list haha! We've always been very good with family planning, I'm sure this is karma's way of telling me off for being so snooty about women who get pregnant 'accidentally' in the past. First baby was very much planned but happened very quickly, this one not planned but very much wanted. No more though!